MSI Unveils X299M-A Pro Micro-ATX Motherboard

MSI unveiled a new micro-ATX X299 motherboard. The X299M-A Pro is MSI’s second X299 micro-ATX, after the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon. However, unlike the Gaming Pro Carbon, the board is designed to run the Intel Core i5-7640X and Core i7-7740X CPUs only. The simple board features just two-channel DDR4 memory, but includes four DIMM slots. Specifically, it supports up to 64GB of RAM. In addition, the X299M-A Pro boasts twin M.2 slots, Intel Optane support, and 4 PCIe Gen3 slots.

MSI X299M-A Pro Key Features

• Supports New Intel® Core™ X-series Processor i7-7740X & i5-7640X(4 Cores) only
• Supports DDR4-4400+(OC) Memory
• DDR4 BOOST: Give your DDR4 memory a performance boost.
• TWIN TURBO M.2 and Intel Optane Memory Ready: Running at PCI-E Gen3 x4 maximizes performance for NVMe based SSDs.
• Military Class 6: Latest evolution in high quality components for best protection and efficiency
• DIGITALL POWER DESIGN: Allowing faster and undistorted delivery to the CPU at pin-point precision
• Intel® LAN: Great online experience through hardware design and bandwidth management offering the lowest latency.
• EZ DEBUG LED: Easiest way to troubleshoot
• Audio Boost 4: Reward your ears with studio grade sound quality for a true HI-FI experience
• Dual BIOS: Having 2 physical BIOS chips for easy reset and recovery
• MULTI-GPU: With STEEL ARMOR PCI-E slots. Supports 2-Way NVIDIA SLI™ & AMD Crossfire

MSI X299M-A Pro Specifications

• Socket: 2066
• CPU (Max Support): X-Series
• Chipset: Intel X299 Chipset
• DDR4 Memory:
  • Intel® Core™ X-series Processors (4 core CPU i7-7740X/i5-7640X) – Dual channel memory support DDR4 4500+(OC)/4400(OC)/4333(OC)/4266(OC)/4200(OC)/4133(OC)/4000(OC)/3866(OC)/3800(OC)/3733(OC)/3600(OC)/3466(OC)/3400(OC)/3333(OC)/3200(OC)/3000(OC)/2933(OC)/2800(OC)/2667/2400/2133 MHz*
• Memory Channel: Dual
• DIMM Slots: 4
• Max Memory: 64GB
• PCI-EX16: 3
• PCI-E GEN: Gen3
• SATAIII: 8
• M.2 Slot: 2
• RAID: 0/1/5/10
• TPM (Header): 1
• LAN: 10/100/1000*1
• USB 3.1 Ports
  • Front: 4 (Gen1)
  • Rear: 2 (Gen2 ,Type A+C), 4 (Gen1 Type A)
• USB 2.0 Ports:
  • Front: 4
  • Rear: 2
• Audio Ports: Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
• Form Factor: m-ATX
• SLI: Yes
• Crossfire: Yes

Price and Availability

MSI is yet to announce X299M-A Pro release details. However, TechPowerUp expects the board to cost approximately $170.